A top executive of Japan's scandal- ridden Olympus Corp was found hanging outside his suburban apartment in the Indian capital in a likely suicide.

Tsutomu Omori, 49, head of the company's medical equipment business in India, appeared to have killed himself late Sunday, Lal Singh, investigating officer of Gurgaon Police said.

There was no immediate suggestion his death was linked to a US$1.7 billion (HK$13.26 billion) fraud that has rocked corporate Japan and led to the arrest of senior executives in Tokyo.

"At this stage of the probe, it looks like he committed suicide. One of his company executives told us he was depressed for the last two weeks," Singh said, adding that the Japanese embassy was informed of the death on Monday.

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Two handwritten notes, one in Japanese and the other in English, were discovered from Omori's home in Gurgaon. "I am sorry for bothering you," the note in English read.

Earlier this month, Tokyo police arrested seven top executives of Olympus for their alleged involvement in the accounting fraud.